1864 Springfield

[Andy Goddard]

I just traded for an original that someone has taken the barrel to the white and barrel bands are sanded to a silver color. I thought I would blue the bands with the Brownells oxfo blue. Not sure if this is dark enough. Anyone had any experience with blueing the bands?

[R. McAuley 3014V]

Andy,

Firstly, is this musket a M-1863 (Type I) with a 1864 date or a M-1863 (Type II) "band spring model" with a 1864 date? Only the earlier type had blued (screw-clamping) bands; the latter type were solid bands finished in the bright. While you can certainly use Brownells Oxpho blue for both the barrel and bands, if there is any pitting or minor imperfections, scratches, etc, in the metal surface, the bluing will, of course, flow into those areas as well but it will be very evident to a potential buyer that the gun has been refinished. In fact, the bands are finished in such a uniform manner by the armory that if you don't know how these were originally finished, and you simply reblue them, it will be very apparent to someone who knows the difference. Oxpho blue is a good choice among cold bluing solutions for re-touching a blued gun, which is chiefly its intended use.

If you're going to blue the entire barrel, buy a section of 2" I.D. plastic pipe (PVC) longer than the barrel length and an end cap, and after cutting the pipe to length (about 4 feet long) glue the cap to one end of the pipe. Using a liquid measuring flask like from a photographic supplies shop, put the barrel inside the pipe section, and flood the pipe with water so to measure the precise volume of bluing solution needed to fully immerse the barrel, and this will give you a more uniform finish.

You should be able to fit the entire barrel inside the pipe, including the rear sight, but you will need to plug the bore and cone vent, otherwise, it will blue the inside of the bore too. It takes only a few seconds by the immersion method but leave it in the pipe for a couple of minutes, it can be re-immersed to get a deeper blue in subsequent immersions. You'll need a place to wash off the solution before drying the barrel to see how dark it is when dry. Using the pipe will also help you to determine just how much bluing you will need to buy. You'll also want to use a wax or other finish to help protect the bluing. I've reblued a 3-band Enfield barrel with the 16 oz. size with the rear sights still on.

Now, if the overall condition of the rest of the musket is in NRA very fine condition, perhaps rather than bluing bands that are not in the same VF condition you might replace the bands with others in comparable condition rather than wasting time trying to get the bluing to match if there is any difference in the metalurgy. While Oxpho blue is a very good cold bluing solution, Brownells also sells a sprary-on black enamel that is "baked-on" but neither it nor the Oxpho blue will take much buffing before suddenly you're back to where you started. Even once you dip or spread the Oxpho blue on the metal, it initially forms a dull or matt finish emulsion that you will need to wipe off the excess and lightly buff to bring up the luster but it is not quite the same end product that hot bluing gives.

Richard McAuley 3014V
37th GA

[Andy Goddard]

Thanks for the information. It is a type one 1863 with the lock marked 1864. I wasn't planning on bluing or browning the barrel. Whitacre checked out he barrel for me said it was in great shape lands and grove great, so I had him put on the target front sight. Stock is very good with cartouches and inspector mark clear. I was planning on using it for my main NMLRA musket matches. For some reason it fits real good. The wood under tang and breech is hard so I don't want to bed it. Lock is good , but I went and bought a repro bridle to use. I heard that the original bridles were hard and sometimes the pin would break. I thought to blue the bands to remove some glare and also to make it more like they were.